Traditionally containers, and especially containers with partitions for holding and/or separating products for storage or shipment, were manufactured by placing plurality of partitions in a U-shaped pad which formed the base and side walls of the container. The partitions typically had a pair of slots, positioned at opposite ends of the partition, and rising from the bottom of the partition. These slots were adapted to engage corresponding slots in the side walls of the U-shaped pad, which descended from the top of the side walls of the U-shaped pad. The far end portions of the partitions outside of the slots would then be folded over and sonically welded to the side walls of the U-shaped pad. In this style of container, the exterior dimensions of the container would be increased by twice the thickness of the partition due to the folded over portion of the partition outside each of the side walls of the U-shaped pad. For example, if the partition had a thickness of ¼″, after the partition was folded over and attached to the side walls of the U-shaped pad, the overall outside width of the container would be increased by at least ½″ to account for the thickness of the partition on either side of the container. When multiple containers were positioned next to one another, as would be the case in shipping or storage, the space between these containers was unusable. Again, in a case where the thickness of a partition was ¼″, there would be ½″ of space wasted between containers stacked side by side. Such wasted space is obviously undesirable in both a shipping and storage context, as wasted space costs the shipper or the storer additional cost as more space is required to store or ship the same amount of product. In addition, the process of sonically welding the partitions to the outside walls of the U-shaped pad adds cost.
An alternative method of constructing such a container is to use a container with a locking strip which would secure the partitions to the side walls of the U-shaped pad. In this type of container, the partitions did not have slots, but rather had tabs at each end which were adapted to extend through slits in the side walls of the U-shaped pad. The tab on either end of the partition contained an aperture that would allow for a locking strip to slide through and secure the partitions to the U-shaped pad. In a typical example, the tabs would extend approximately ½″ from the exterior of the side walls of the U-shaped pad, to allow for adequate space for the locking strip to slide through. While this style of a container had the advantage of eliminating the cost associated with the sonically welding partitions to the sides of the container, it had the disadvantage of increasing the overall outside width of the container, which again increased the amount of space that would be wasted in shipping or storage. For example, if the tab of the partition extended ½″ outside the exterior wall of the U-shaped pad, when two containers were put side by side, approximately an inch of unusable or wasted space would result between the containers. This increases shipping or storage costs as more space is needed to ship the same amount of product.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container that reduces the cost involved in attaching partitions to the side walls of a container. Another object of the invention is to provide a container that minimizes the unusable space between containers when they are positioned next to each other during shipping or storage. It is yet another objective of the present invention to maximize the internal storage space in a particular container while minimizing the exterior dimensions of that container.